George Santayana had an irrational faith in reason ... I have irrational faith in television.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Bones 7.8: Parents

Bones continues to break new ground with every episode. Think about it. In the past 60+ years of television, we've had crime fighters, male and female, single and married, some even with kids playing a significant role (for example, 24 and The Shield). But Bones is now on the way to doing it all, and more with each episode.

For most of the series, Bones revolved around a deeply flirtatious, star crossed couple. At the end last season, Bones got pregnant. At the end of last week's episode, Bones and Booth had their baby - Christine. This week, we get to see Bones and Booth at home with the baby, and attempting to wrap their previous and continuing professional lives around Christine.

It can't be an easy thing. Bones and Booth both work in the most demanding jobs imaginable. Though the humor in them and all around them leavens this, their work is no less life-and-death demanding. Can they sustain this work and be the wonderful parents we know them to be?

In one sense, this is a metaphor for all parents. But it's also very real and literal for Bones and Booth. In episode 7.8, they leave Christine in good hands for the day. Like all parents, Bones and Booth wonder if Christine will be ok? Each, in their own way, are distracted by this as they nonetheless give their all and crack the case.

The real question, of course, is not whether Christine be ok, but will Bones and Booth? In the excellent last scene, Bones does not want to stop holding Christine sweetly asleep in her arms. She's missed her baby, apart from her all day. Booth asks if maybe Bones should stay home longer with Christine. Bones answers that it won't be easy, but she wants to continue working as well as being a mother.

So the stage continues to be set for the quintessential 21st century family. Who would have ever imagined that Bones would become a tableau for the best of family values. In an ideal world, we might get to follow this family until Christine became an adult. As it is, we'll have to do well with just a couple of years.

About Me

Paul Levinson, PhD, is Professor of Communication &
Media Studies at Fordham University in New York City.His 8 nonfiction books, including The Soft Edge (1997),
Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003), Cellphone (2004), and New New Media (2009, 2nd edition 2012), have been the
subject of major articles in the New York Times, Wired, the Christian Science
Monitor, and have been translated into 12 languages. His science fiction novels include The Silk Code (1999, ebook 2012), Borrowed Tides (2001), TheConsciousness Plague (2002, 2013), The Pixel Eye (2003), The Plot To SaveSocrates (2006, ebook 2012), and Unburning Alexandria (2013).His short stories
have been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, Edgar, and Sturgeon Awards.Paul Levinson appears on "The
O'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News,"“NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” (PBS),“Nightline” (ABC), NPR, and numerous
national and international TV and radio programs. His 1972 album, Twice Upon a Rhyme, was re-issued in 2009 (CD) and 2010 (remastered vinyl). He reviews the best of
television in his InfiniteRegress.tv blog, and was listed in The Chronicle of
Higher Education’s “Top 10 Academic Twitterers” in 2009.

e-mail received from a reader:Dear Paul, I just dreamed of airships flying between raindrops. I just returned from 2042 CE, where I sold my hardcover copy of The Plot to Save Socrates for seventy million Neo-Euros, because it had your response to this e-mail from way back in 2007 scotch-taped onto the inside of the cover. A Paul Levinson collector paid top Neo-Euro, because of the authentic archaic e-mail printout from you. It turns out that not many of your e-mails from before your tenure as CEO of HBO/Cinemax and terms as United Nations Secretary General will survive that far into the future. So, please respond to this e-mail, to help found my great-grandchildren's fortune. My Will will stipulate that they must share with your great grandchidren. Thanks! Tom